High E Sounds Bad

[Goonstwone]

Hey all, I just got a SE Custom 24 and when I play on the bridge pickup my high E sounds very tinny or almost out of tune. It's a jarring sound at least to my ear. It goes away (mostly) when I play on the neck pickup. Is this just a thing with these pickups? I'm not getting the same thing through the same amp with my Strat on the bridge pickup. Wanted some advice before I tinker.....

 

[Bsic]

Is your pickup on the bridge side raised higher (or is the gap from string to pickup smaller)? If the string is too close, you can get artifacts in the sound from the magnet pulling on the string.

 

[Goonstwone]

Is your pickup on the bridge side raised higher (or is the gap from string to pickup smaller)? If the string is too close, you can get artifacts in the sound from the magnet pulling on the string.

Thanks for the response. I'll check that. This is my first PRS and just looking at it (I know the bridge pickup is higher by default) the strings sit pretty close to the bridge pickup. Too close? I'll break out the ruler and see....

 

[Warmart]

The skinny strings are very very picky with those magnets, I bet Bsic is on to something - I had the same problem before.

 

[CyFan4036]

I felt that the 85/15s pick ups, if that's what you have, were extremely harsh to my ears initially. I had to swap out the tone cap to get it under control. Now I'm about to drop in an entirely new harness which has a humbucker normal .022 cap so I'm a bit nervous. At the end of the day though, it can all be eq'd to sound right to you...or an easy cap replacement. Good luck!

 

[AaeCee]

Too close? I'll break out the ruler and see....

No, do not break out out the ruler. Let your ears guide you. Lower the treble side and maybe the high E or even B poles as well. Just a bit at a time, sample, then perhaps more. You'll find the sweet spot.

 

[Tone-y]

Agree with the pickup height. Specially if you have 9s on there. Don't forget that it could also be the neck pickup that is too high as it doesn't matter which one is turned on for it's magnet to affect the string - but start with the bridge.

Also, if you haven't already done it since you bought the guitar, put a fresh set of strings on. The high E string again is especially susceptible to sounding wrong with a set of old strings on

 

[dogrocketp]

For some reason, when the strings start to wear, the high E always goes bad first on my SE 24. If it’s used, have a professional install a new nut as well.

 

[Goonstwone]

Thanks for all the responses/help. I ended up going with the advice to lower it by ear and it definitely improved. I'm also gonna slap new strings (10s) on it this week too and we'll see how that goes. Thanks again.